Expensive joke? It’s lost on me says Stewart Downing

IN THE aftermath of Damien Comolli’s departure as Liverpool’s director of football last month, the gag quickly did the rounds that at least Stewart Downing could finally point to an assist this season.

Gallows humour is alive and well on Merseyside, yet the £20million winger, still to justify his standing as one of the club’s most expensive signings, is determined to move on from being the butt of the jokes.

For all the accusations that Downing has been out of step with what is required at Anfield it seems strange that, in many respects, he has come to personify Liverpool over the course of the campaign.

His best performances, like those of the team, have been reserved for the cup competitions. And if that is a trend that continues at Wembley tomorrow, the grumbling will stop.

Downing could hardly escape the criticism he and the rest of Liverpool’s costly signings in 2011 have incurred during a campaign in the Premier League that has underwhelmed in the extreme.

“It’s someone’s opinion,” he said. “Others might take it hard, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s easy to think just because it’s not gone well in the league it’s because of the new players.

The goals have been disappointing, just two in the cup

Stewart Downing

“But that happens at every club. There are more than four or five players in a squad and we have all not done it, not just the new ones. It’s as a team.

“Sometimes the new ones haven’t played and we have lost games, it’s just a building process, it takes time. To win the Carling Cup in the first season and potentially the FA Cup as well would be a great start.”

His argument carries weight, as does the view that Downing’s performances have not been as insipid as they have been portrayed. He has suffered from Liverpool’s misfortune in front of goal more than most, with his supply line to the strikers too often carelessly squandered .

He said: “My form has been a bit up and down, some good, some indifferent. The goals have been disappointing, just two in the cup.

“I can’t remember how many times I’ve hit the bar or the post in the league. Last season they seemed to go in, those chances would go for you, but you just have to keep plugging away.

“The assists thing, I can set up chances but you can’t force it over the line and that’s the biggest problem. We’ve set up loads but just not scored. We’re in the team to provide and can only do that.”

His view is correct up to a point. Yet Downing, who throughout his career with Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Liverpool has often been remarked upon as being the best player in training, is at a moment where he needs to accept more responsibility.

“You’re expected to come in and set the world alight but sometimes it doesn’t happen,” he said. “You’ve seen players at other big clubs take time to settle in but then become big players for them. That’s how it is for us at the minute.”

A loss could still be damaging for Dalglish’s reign and Downing knows this would be the perfect time to repay another slice of his fee.

“Kenny has paid a lot and worked hard to get us here,” he said. “Mine was a process that took time, but they worked hard to sign me and I have massive respect for Kenny for that. Every time you play you want to do your best for him.”

An extra incentive comes from the memory of his first visit to the old Wembley as a teenager on schoolboy forms with Boro in 1997.

He had barely settled in his seat when Roberto Di Matteo’s wonder strike after just 42 seconds set Chelsea en route to a 2-0 FA Cup final success.

“Boro were underdogs and we all remember Di Matteo’s goal so early, going in off the bar. I’ve hated him ever since,” he said. “What did I call him at the time? Nothing I could really repeat. But he scored a good goal and has done well as manager at Chelsea.”